Weightlessness

By Oelania P, Brooklyn, NY

The elevator doors opened on the ninth floor and my sneakers squeaked along the shiny tile. Research findings plastered the hall like wallpaper. I rounded the corner to the Cardiovascular Physiology and Space Medicine Laboratory at UT Southwestern Medical School. What initially struck me as clutter was really a mini-museum of space history. Those framed catheters measured astronauts’ arterial pressure during shuttle launches. My spine tingled as I anticipated my research internship.

My mentor, Dr. Peter Snell, was a lean, graying three-time Olympic gold medalist now enjoying a career in Exercise Physiology. He is studying the effectiveness of an exercise training regimen to counteract muscular atrophy during prolonged weightlessness.